What was her name?
by Bright Anarchy
Summary: Crossover. The Clamp Campus Detectives have an attractive mystery to unravel. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to want to be unravelled. ...and what's with the combat boots? Poor Quatre.
1. Foot in mouth disease

_Gundam Wing and Clamp School Detectives are not my creation. I have no beta so feel free to correct me._

_Major rework time_

_Changes – Clamp puts huge importance on Japanese naming convention. I will attempt to get it right. The name and suffixes are going to drive me to distraction. I will be attempting to use the suffix the person who seems to be in observation mode would use out of dialogue, first names when no 'person' is obvious and correct suffixes during dialog for those who would be likely to use them. Koneko, Duo and Trowa will use North American standards most of the time but will attempt with varying success Japanese convention when speaking to the Clamp crowd. Duo might intentionally use incorrect Japanese convention just for the fun of it. This first bit Lin Koneko's Japanese naming is mixed up as no one seems to know which is her first name._

_I am including more exposition about the Clamp side of things as people are less familiar with Clamp and seem to need more background._

_I am fixing some of the obvious mistakes._

She looked delicate, almost frail. Her complexion was pale. She looked drawn and tired. Blond corn silk bangs obscured her eyes unless she looked up to gaze directly at you with celestial eyes that seemed to cloud from midnight blue to sea green depending on the light. Her hair had a loose natural curl and came down just below her shoulders rather untidily. She stared solemnly out at the approaching star shape of Clamp Campus' major roads. The pentagram became more and more clear as the Preventor shuttle approached the Tokyo Airstrip. It swung out of view as the shuttle veered into position for landing.

Duo turned sideways in the co-pilot seat while Heero brought the shuttle into land.

"Koneko you've been very quiet," commented Duo looking vaguely guilty and worried.

"Please don't call me that," she answered quietly folding her hands in front of her tightly. Stress tightened her shoulders and whitened her knuckles.

"He's not going to call you Quatre," spoke Heero tonelessly.

"I know…" Koneko spoke no more.

ioioioi

Imonoyama Nokoru Kaichou (Kaichou loosely translates to president or chairman) looked out the window of the high school council office. The high school offices were arranged differently from the junior high or primary school offices. It was a corner office and there were windows on two sides. Nokoru enjoyed the extra windows.

Nokoru, in grade ten was in his first year as high school student body president. The class elections were held in the fall to allow preparation time for the next year's first term. Next year's freshman couldn't run an election campaign in a school they weren't yet enrolled in, so the earliest a student could become Kaichou was second year. (Despite the fact, many over eager students anticipating Nokoru-sama's entry into high school had penned his name onto the ballet the year before. He was almost elected without even being eligible to run.)

During Nokoru's freshman year, the previous Kaichou had invited Imonoyama-sama to the secretary's position. It only made sense. The school would dance to the beat of Imonoyama-sama's drum whether he was officially involved in the student council or not, so one might as well bow to the inevitable. When Nokoru's name appeared on the spring election ballet running for secretary, no one even bothered to run against him. Saying Nokoru was popular was like calling the perfect storm a light breeze. He was richer than Midas, a genius, quite the looker and chivalry was his favourite hobby. He was a little full of himself actually but as his world revolved around making others happy most forgave him if he seemed to expect the sun to shine when he smiled at it.

The previous Kaichou, having been warned by Takamara-san of stacks and stacks of unattended paperwork that normally made itself at home on Imonyama-sama's desk, was surprised not to have had this problem. Although there was an obscene amount of paperwork involved in student council duties Imonoyama-sama had kept his own desk clean while secretary and even helped keep the presidential paper stack under control. Nokoru had been all business.

This year Takamara Souh, a year younger than Nokoru, had reached high school and was there once more to share student council time with taking over the secretary position as Nokoru became Kaichou. Nokoru was once again ignoring his paperwork with zest! Poor Souh.

Souh had been Nokoru's closest friend since he first came to Clamp in Elementary School. Souh's family was by tradition in the bodyguard business. There were rumours that once the Takamaras were ninjas but something happened hundreds of years ago making them decide to turn to a more samurai sort of life style. Now they were the most sought after bodyguards in the business and chose whom they would devote themselves to. Souh had chosen Nokoru-sama.

"Souh look at this! We're getting a new student. How interesting!" commented Nokoru with a cheerful smile.

"Kaichou, I do hope you're not trying to tell me that a new student is a good reason to drop everything important and goof off for the day," replied Souh dryly.

Undaunted Nokoru continued, "With Clamp operating on an escalator system, it is unusual for us to be getting a new student entering into grade ten. To be getting a new student mid-term is even more unusual!"

Souh still didn't look impressed.

"It's a lady," added Nokoru.

Still not impressed.

"She's on full scholarship. Even though she is starting mid-term." Nokoru's fan read 'CURIOUS'

Souh shoved a stack of neglected paperwork towards Imonoyama-sama without cracking a smile.

"I do believe that's her now," exclaimed Nokoru pointing out the window towards a blond girl being escorted across campus by a young priest.

Souh knew better. He honestly knew better than to look, but just the same he looked down towards the new student knowing it could only be the new student. Nokoru-sama knew by sight, name, and any number of other impressive statistics, every female on campus.

Nokoru-sama who had just snuck off to hang more cupcakes on his robotic musical snack mobile? No… there was Kaichou… He'd snuck off to meet the new student.

"Hello Cupcake?" Nokoru smiled at the new girl.

The boy in priests clothing gave the strange guy that had just intercepted them a look of disgust. "You didn't just call her Cupcake, Pervert!" He hurried the girl along while Nokoru was still sputtering.

Nokoru Imonoyama looking a little dejected took the cupcake out from behind his back. "That did not go as planned," he mumbled climbing the stairs back up to the student council room.

ioioioi

Duo wasn't sure what to think. What would Quatre want him to think? Koneko was looking at him with pity in her eyes.

"Duo," she spoke. "If you ever need anything you know where to find me."

Duo pulled on his own braid staring at the enigmatic girl.

Koneko chose her words very carefully. "It's alright Duo. Go. I understand. Peace is a fragile treasure and you four are right at the pulse point that keeps it alive. The Winner legacy is too powerful to leave unsettled."

"You're like him," Duo admitted at last. "Innocent until proven guilty, guilty until proven innocent. It doesn't mean jack because there are really only three choices. You're a victim, you're a villain or you're him. What am I supposed to do if you're a lost little part of him, or are the best-damned liar and worst damned villain I've ever known? Am I supposed to grieve? I loose you no, no him! AH CRUD! Whatever! I loose no matter what. I can't exact vengeance. Not when there's that little chance! And what the …"

"Don't swear," interrupted Koneko gently.

Duo frowned because he had been about to swear and it was so like Quatre to interrupt right precisely before his language got really filthy.

"WHAT ARE WE DOING TO YOU?" demanded/pleaded Duo? "Quatre was my best friend…"

"Quatre will always be your friend Duo."

Duo left and Koneko cried.

The funeral for Quatre Reberba Winner had been nearly a month ago. The pilots and the Maganac Corp had all been there but none of them; none of Quatre's closest and dearest friends had given eulogies unless you count a drunken Wufei and Trowa having an incoherent contest to see who could come up with the most creative explicative to describe the current situation. Swearing in upwards of twenty-six languages is rarely considered a eulogy.

ioioioi

Nokoru and Souh went their separate ways as the school day officially began. Second period, Nokoru smiled as he watch the principal escort the new girl to join his accelerated calculus class. She'd been given a uniform although it fit horribly. It was too big in most places and almost indecently short. A few of the girls snickered a little.

Nokoru stood up went over and put out a hand in greeting "I'm Imonoyama Nokoru. What are your measurements?" Nokoru stopped because the new girl looking at him rather aghast. "I'm student body Kaichou." Nokoru tried to explain hastily.

The principal interrupted at this point asking Imonoyama-sama to take his seat and instructing the girl to introduce herself.

"My name is Koneko Lín or rather Lín Koneko? Please be patient my Japanese is unpractised. I am pleased to be joining you here at Clamp."

She seemed friendly but tired and confused. Nokoru saw at once how particularly with her Japanese being rough how everything he'd said to her so far could be seen as a cheesy or rude pickup line. He grimaced a little. He wondered which was her family name. Lín was a Chinese family name and Koneko was a Japanese family name and she looked maybe European although it was hard to tell. Her accent had been impossible to place.

The girls sitting next to her were snickering at her clothing again. Nokoru penned a note to himself with flair. 'Investigate female uniform inventories, sizing issues obvious, injustice to new students!'

Nokoru's track record with the new girl was 100 percent dismal by the end of the day. In chemistry he'd exclaimed, "Be my partner. We have chemistry together." She'd given him the LOOK.

In physics, "Magnetism, you and me?" Again he got the LOOK though she did look a little amused at his gall.

Coming out of the washroom after class, Nokoru put his hands on his hips determined. "This is it!" He exclaimed. "I'll explain myself and set this all straight for once and for all!"

When he walked up to her and explained, "Look, I'm just trying to be friendly…"

She interrupted him by discretely gesturing downwards. Imonoyama Nokoru was flying low. "I'm very sorry pervert but I'm not interested in that kind of friendly," she replied. Nokoru turned crimson, zipped him self and fled.

"Poor fellow," whispered Koneko not sure what to make of this Nokoru fellow.

Souh wondered a little why Nokoru-sama was banging his head against the desk in the student council chamber at the end of the day. "Why are you?"

"BECAUSE I'M A PERVERT OKAY! OKAY!"

Souh backed up and raised one eyebrow thoughtfully. "Well… That's still not an excuse to ignore your paperwork."

The next day didn't exactly go swimmingly either. At lunch Koneko-san walked by right as Nokoru was complimenting the girls in the botany club on their fine melons. Lín-san looked at the pleased girls and looked at Nokoru, shook her head confused and went off to sit by herself.

Nokoru resisted the urge to scream ARRGGH! It looked like the new girl hadn't slept and frankly she didn't look well. Actually Nokoru as well had slept poorly. He intended to sneak off at lunch and nap on one of the student council couches. It was quiet there and the couches were comfortable. He wondered…

"Excuse me, Lín Koneko-san but you look tired. I know a spot where we can go and you can sleep with me." Nokoru froze in horror. He'd just said, ur... um… what had he just said?

"How exactly did a pervert end up class president anyway?" she replied giving him that LOOK.

Nokoru shrugged helplessly. He saw Souh getting his lunch across the room and felt a sudden overwhelming desire to be rescued. "Something's come up." It's funny how once on starts thinking with a perverted mind everything can be misinterpreted. Nokoru groaned realizing that something was up. He put his books in front of his lap sheepishly. Stupid teenage hormones he thought actually picturing himself in bed with Lín-san or Koneko-san despite what had honestly been honourable intentions then wrenching his thoughts off in another direction. "Takamara-san! Good to see you!" He ran away.

When a blue haired boy approached Koneko after last class, she recognized him as the pervert's friend Takamara Souh.

"Hello, It is a pleasure to meet you. May I ask what your family name is?" Souh asked carefully.

"Lín," replied Koneko warily.

"I'm speaking to you on behalf of the Kaichou."

"I'm still not going to sleep with him."

Souh bowed politely. "Lín-san, Kaichou's family own the school. To him it is a matter of personal pride that new students be kindly and honourably treated." Souh paused thinking carefully to make sure he missed nothing. "Kaichou has an automatic cupcake dispensing device and this is for you." Souh held out a cupcake iced with 'Welcome to Clamp'

Nokoru breathed a little sigh of relief watching as Lín-san cautiously accepted the cupcake. Akira hearing his friend's dilemma had iced it for the Kaichou specially.

"Imonoyama-sama would like to acquire a properly fitted uniform for you. This is the correct acquisition form. Kaichou has notarized it already if you can just fill in your sizing information and turn this in to the campus store you'll have uniforms that fit in a day or two. Kaichou was embarrassed that they did not have stock in your size ready for you." Lín-san accepted the form.

"He's not a pervert. He's a feminist actually," explained Souh.

"Feminist. I do not know what that word means," replied Koneko carefully.

"It means, he loves woman," tried Souh.

"That doesn't sound much different than pervert," Koneko answered still on guard.

"A champion for women is a better way of putting it," Souh explained.

"I still don't think I'd vote for him," replied Koneko.

Souh laughed.

"What's so funny?" Koneko huffed a little. All of the Japanese was starting to get a little overwhelming. At a flicker of movement to the right Koneko smirked a little and called out, "Imonoyama Nokoru you can stop skulking behind that pillar and come out. There's no need to be afraid of me. Although if you keep skulking I'll start calling you a peeping tom in addition to a pervert."

Souh laughed again, for Lin-san, from the tone in her voice, had obviously meant it to be a joke although Nokoru-sama in his nervousness had obviously missed the humour in it. He scrambled out from behind the pillar.

"You make him nervous I think," explained Souh. "It's refreshing. He's almost always so composed it's unbearable."

"You're talking about me like I'm not here," protested Nokoru a little petulantly.

"You were pretending you weren't here," Koneko challenged back. "Who is more in the wrong?"

Imonoyama Nokoru, ever the gentleman, apologized.


	2. Knight to Queen

Ijyuin Akira smiled as Imonoyama-sama and Takamara-sempai came into the café where he was working as a chef part time. "How did it go?" he asked eagerly.

Nokoru laughed cheerfully, "Souh saved the day of course!" Nokoru fanned himself in great relief sighing dramatically. "It was not my own reputation I was concerned about but a lady should be treated with more respect and it was only decent that I assure her she was not being harassed by some unsavoury character!"

"Most certainly," agreed Akira wholeheartedly.

What a pair of hams, thought Souh fondly.

"Takamura-sempai, is she pretty?" asked Akira as Nokoru went to select a pastry to enjoy with this afternoon's tea. "We both know Kaichou has never shown a preference for any special someone. Do you think this might be the one?"

Souh didn't want to extinguish the stars in Ijyuin's eyes but he stopped and thought about it. "I'm not sure about pretty. Her uniform was ill fitting and personal care did not seem a priority for her, messy hair, unshaved legs, un-manicured hands, no makeup... She looked unwell, underweight, almost haunted and she was wearing combat boots."

Akira seemed to deflate.

"…I think she might be pretty underneath all that."

Akira looked thoughtful.

"An uncle of mine lost his family in a car accident. Her eyes look like his did. I think Kaichou is just concerned for her," Souh added. Souh had put a damper on the festive mood of afternoon tea.

Nokoru however, just patted Souh on the back. "Clamp Campus Detectives were founded to defend woman everywhere!"

The stars returned to Akira's eyes and Nokoru stood on a chair raising his teacup to toast everyday heroism and superhuman good intentions.

"We'll solve the mystery of Lín Koneko-san and find her smile!"

"Kaichou," pleaded Souh. "Can you at least wait until she's settled in and had a few good nights sleep? I'm not sure she needs rescuing."

That Friday the replacement uniforms came in. Nokoru had Akira deliver them as the younger boy was unknown to Lin-san and Akira could investigate and hopefully find clues as to what was bothering the new student.

When Akira knocked at the door of the dorm room. The door was thrown open and Akira found him self pinned against a wall and threatened with a fountain pen by a crazy looking blond wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt and hopefully undergarments but Akira was very busy not looking.

"Sorry!" called out an overweight dimpled girl from the other side of the room hastily pulling off a set of headphones. "Just don't move. She's a little squirrelly right now. I think it's been over a week since she's slept. I didn't hear the door go or I would have got it." The dumpling girl wandered over and gently spoke to the crazed blonde.

"Koneko-chan, he's one of the good guys. Please let him down."

"He's a SPY! Secrets! Lots and lots of secrets."

"Do you want to know a secret Koneko-chan?" dumpling girl asked.

Koneko nodded releasing Akira but not turning her back on him.

"He's a cook and he's a friend of Nokoru-sama Kaichou."

"Oh," Koneko tossed the pen across the room. It was amazing. The pen landed precisely in a cup of other pencils and pens. She turned her back on Akira and climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her head. "GO AWAY. I'm trying to nap. Pleased to meet you."

"Can I move now?" Akira asked looking very nervous.

"Yes," the mound of blankets mumbled back. "Sorry."

I can do this, thought Akira determined, I will be a champion for girls everywhere! "Why can't you sleep?"

"Because you're talking to me," came the muffled reply.

"I brought your uniforms."

Koneko pulled the covers off her head and sighed wearily. "Thank you kindly Akira Ijyuin. It was very nice of you to go out of your way and deliver them personally."

She got to her feet and bowed slightly. It was very aristocratic. It looked like one of Imonoyama-sama's bows.

"How did you know my name?" Akira asked a little in awe of the weirdness of this entire exchange.

"Airi is one of Imonyama Nokoru's biggest fans. I know of you by virtue of her enthusiasm for him," explained Koneko nodding towards the dumpling girl. She then took the uniforms gingerly from Akira and hung them in the closet. "What shall I do with the other uniforms?"

"Please return them to stores. There's a credit on your account pending their return," spoke Akira, feeling a little like he was in the twilight zone. "Lín-san please don't take this the wrong way but I think you should see the school nurse. If you have insomnia she can give you something to help you sleep."

"Thank you for your concern regarding my health," Akira found himself ushered out the door.

Airi followed him, "Koneko-chan, I'm just going to speak with Akira-kun for a moment."

"Urm," the pile of blankets replied. Koneko had returned to bed.

"You tell the school nurse to stay out of it!" Airi ranted to Akira in a whisper. "She wasn't near this bad until the nurse gave her something to help her sleep! Now she's a nutcase and she's still not sleeping! You go talk to the nurse! I can't leave her like this."

Akira talked to the nurse. The nurse said there was nothing more she could do short of admitting Lín-san to the hospital. Akira went to talk to Imonoyama-sama. Imonoyama-sama was fired up with enthusiastic plans however the high school was hosting an international chess tournament and as host, he was unable to divide his attention away from it.

Saturday morning saw Nokoru at a chess set playing one of students who had flown in to champion another school. Nokoru had read a book or two about chess in honor of the tournament and though he had never played chess before, he was winning. Such is the way of an Imonoyama. Koneko still looking like night of the living dead, watched.

"I'll play you," she called to Nokoru.

"We're not quite done," grouched the spectacled chess champion Nokoru was playing. "I'd appreciate silence." It was humiliating being so thoroughly trounced by a rank beginner. He was beaten three moves later.

"I'm sorry," spoke Koneko laying a hand sympathetic on the loser's shoulder. "I should not have distracted you."

"It's alright. I saw after you'd spoken that he'd have me mated in three moves."

"I've been meaning to speak with you," Nokoru greeted Lín-san with a smile.

Koneko shook her opponents hand and sat down focusing on the game. "Let's make things more difficult for you shall we?"

Nokoru nodded. He was willing to give her a lead of a few pieces but that wasn't what Lín-san had in mind.

"Chess is a computer game unless you add in a human factor so we're going to speed things up. Each of us will only have two seconds to make a move or the game is forfeit. Let's get your fan club in on the game."

They played standing up. Nokoru's fan club shouted a count down. "TWO, ONE," with each move.

Koneko shouted, "Tell him how you love him girls!" There was much screaming, shrieking, blowing of kisses. It was chaos. Nokoru was slaughtered but he loved it. It was so much more fun that sitting silently and tapping a clock on a five minute count down.

Koneko then arranged a game of field chess. The chess champions divided into teams. Each player could move on his or her own if they were fast enough and moved first or they could listen to the king who directed play with a megaphone. There was no rule of silence or decorum. There were on a six-minute clock to allow extra moving around time with full-scale people. Koneko was elected the white King. Her team took the first game. One of the lead international champions played against her as black King. Nokoru cheered from the sidelines. Koneko had her players doing the can-can and sneaking to the edge of their squares to make it more difficult for the opposing king to judge their position. She whispered a few moves so it looked like players were mutinying. Her team created such chaos that they themselves were too busy to let egos second-guess her moves. The opposing team was thoroughly confused and not nearly as well organized

After the field was handed over to new leadership. Nokoru took Koneko aside. "It seems you're still not sleeping is their anything I can do to help? We Clamp Campus Detectives are champions for women in any way we can be."

"You like to be a hero..." Lín-san replied. The poor girl was trembling but she seemed at least a little charmed by his attempt at gallantry. "I like to encourage good intentions."

"Nervous exhaustion caused by stress can lead to fatigue, loss of concentration, irritability, moodiness, anxiety, depression, insomnia, chronic muscle tension, headaches and/or digestive problems." Nokoru rhymed off.

"You've done your homework." Koneko fought the urge to burst into tears for no reason. Nokoru-san couldn't really help but it was a nice gesture. "I don't know, convince the house mum to let my roommate and some of her girl friends have a sleepover in one of the other rooms. Quiet might help and it's hard not to be a little anxious with someone new bustling around when you're trying to sleep."

"I can get you a private room." Nokoru offered.

"No, I like the company."

Nokoru knew Lín Koneko-san's troubles were bigger than a new roommate. "Do you want to talk about it?" he tried.

"No," the girl answered as if the question had no more emotional baggage attached then asking if she had the time.

Hmmm thought Nokoru. It was a very strange response.

"You look puzzled," she commented.

"You are obviously upset about something…"

"Talking is simply not always appropriate. Secrets are sometimes just common sense and not a great bottling of emotions. ."

That Nokoru could understand. He had secrets of his own. He still wanted to help but his options were now very limited. Never let it be said that Nokoru Imonoyama-sama did anything half way. Convince the house mum to allow a sleepover; there's no style in that. He sent Airi-san and all of Koneko-san's nearest roommates away on a complimentary spa trip for the rest of the weekend.

Koneko slept for nearly two days straight and woke to a basket of baked good, a vase with flowers in it and a note. "In honor of your chess victory. The chess club has declared this the most successful tournament they've ever participated in. Everyone had a fine time. Thank you. Nokoru Imonoyama Kaichou."


	3. Spyware

Please review. I get discouraged and stop writing eventually when I get no reviews.

The pilot of the day is Heero.

When Monday came and Koneko Lín enter homeroom Nokoru Imonoyama smiled like the Cheshire cat. She was stomping those combat boots very deliberately.

"Don't think I'm not grateful you, you, well meaning busybody but did you have to sic half the dorm on me?" she asked looking playfully furious. She was obviously not really mad. She'd waited for a polite break in the conversation before making her outraged comment.

Airi-san, her roommate grinned and declared happily. "I sat on her and the other girls gave her a manicure, a wax job, styled her hair, and well we decided makeup would have been over the top but the new uniforms look much better."

Koneko looked pretty. Her hair was in twin French braids, her bangs had been trimmed showing off her eyes but still veiling them enough to give her a sense of mystery. The girls had given her a delicate coral pink on her nails, which were short but well shaped.

"Clamp students pride themselves on being the world's finest well meaning busybodies," declared Nokoru with a congratulatory bow to Airi-san kissing her hand. Airi-san blushed crimson.

Koneko stomped off to her seat with a smile looking a little embarrassed but smiling an honest smile for the first time since Nokoru had met her. Her perfect posture and patient attentiveness was out of character with the clomping and stomping noted Nokoru. Koneko was still something of a mystery.

Nokoru left Lín-san alone after that for the most part. He always paid attention to all of the girls but he also respected Takamara-san's wisdom. Souh suggested they leave her a little time to rest before intervening with aid that might not be needed given time to heal of past troubles. The Clamp council had another more pressing problem anyway. Someone was hacking the Clamp security system and spying on students using Clamp's cameras.

Lady Une was glaring at them. Duo, Heero, Wufei and Trowa didn't even have the decency to look uncomfortable. "If I find that my Preventor agents are abusing their positions hacking into private security systems for their own self interests, particularly if they are using Preventor resources there will be serious repercussions. Legal action will be taken."

"Are there any questions?" No one answered her. Duo looked bored. Heero looked intensely interested but then he always looked intensely something. Trowa didn't seem to be paying attention and Wufei looked disdainful.

"Do you have a problem with this Mr. Chang?"

"No Sir."

The meeting was dismissed. Technically Heero had designed the little program but no one would ever prove it. It tracked Koneko. Cameras followed her through her day. It used almost no bandwidth downloading the sketchiest of images or a rough audio signal unless a special command was activated to increase the quality. The information transfer was encoded and embedded in bundles piggybacked to the information transfer of normal office files from the server to the user. It behaved like the most insidious computer virus hiding and meta morphing to prevent counter hacking. Heero tracked the identities of those using his program and the hours they had clocked watching the girl and he smirked.

Heero had let Duo spy on him using it then 'steal' it off of him when his back was opportunely turned. Duo gave a copy to Trowa directly. Trowa made a copy of the program magically appear on Wufei's computer not telling him that he had done it. Wufei keeping his own identity secret gave Une a copy. Every last one of them had been checking up on Koneko regularly; Une included.

Someone at Clamp had somehow discovered the spying and being unable to stop it had asked for Preventor assistance against what appeared to be international espionage. Une wasn't stupid. She could deduce where the program had come from. She just couldn't prove it. Frankly she didn't want to prove it. That girl, Koneko, had knowledge of the pilots and the war and the inner workings of the Preventors that no one should have. It was in everyone's best interest for someone to keep an eye on her. Une blamed the girl for Quatre Winner's death. The pilot's were less sure.

Heero thought she was a victim who had been empathically imprinted by Quatre's personality during the events surrounding his death but he wasn't sure.

Quatre's death had left a lack of substantial remains. There were traces of blood and DNA. The video footage was inconclusive. There had been no eyewitnesses save Koneko Lín who was no help at all.

Though he acknowledged Une's supposition that Koneko could be a spy sent for some form of espionage or sabotage aimed at the Preventors, Winner Enterprises or even the new World Sphere government all of which Quatre had been heavily involved in, he also acknowledged there were problems with this theory. If she was merely a trained spy, why use such an elaborate and naturally suspicious gambit. She claimed to be Quatre changed by some revolutionary medical procedure executed against her will. There were easy ways to impersonate someone that didn't require faith in highly implausible stories.

Genetically she was very similar to Quatre. Sally said at the very least she was a sister, perhaps an unauthorized test tube sister as all known Winner siblings were accounted for. The fingerprints matched but in this day and age that meant nothing. Fingerprints could be altered. The retinal scan was close but ever so slightly different.

It was possible someone had been trying to get at some specific piece of information Quatre had possessed by directly forcing some kind of new type imprinting, which they achieved that with Koneko. Heero believed that if this had been the plan that it had failed and more of Quatre had been transferred than intended locking the secrets in a new and now unwilling host. However, maybe the information had yet to be transferred. There were too many variables. They had nothing concrete to charge her with but suspicions. Clamp Campus had been a way to get her away from persecution and into a controlled environment. If she was a spy she now had nothing to spy on. If she was a victim she was being given the benefit of the doubt. If she was Quatre, if she really was Quatre Reberba Winner she would understand why they dared not trust her and hopefully find peace in the idyllic utopia Clamp tried to maintain. Clamp Campus had been aggressively neutral through the wars maintaining just enough of a private arsenal to keep OZ, the Alliance, and anyone else with a military attitude out. All Heero was sure of was that Koneko needed to be watched.

Koneko hadn't been up to any mischief. Every morning she went for a run. Her warm up was a brisk walk with her roommate Airi who seemed to have been convinced by Koneko to make some lifestyle changes. Airi had lost a good 20 pounds in the two months Koneko had been rooming with her. Her diet had changed. She was more active and more self-confident. Koneko had gained weight. She was slowly loosing the hollow look and her body was filling out with the most interesting curves. Everyday she looked a little less like Quatre but she never stopped acting like Quatre. She ate the things Quatre liked to eat. Her mannerisms were the same. Her knowledge base seemed the same.

She seemed to delight in what Heero called the imitating Duo stomp. Duo had always teased Quatre about walking like he was balancing a book on his head. Sometimes when Koneko was alone she would move in Quatre's graceful glide. Actually the only mannerisms Koneko had that weren't Quatre mannerisms seemed to imitate one or another of the pilots. It was eerie.

Koneko seemed to be mostly keeping to herself. She seemed reluctant to make close friends. She participated in no extracurricular activities. She studied. She cleaned. She exercised and strength trained. She learned how to French braid her own hair. She went to bed early. She almost never spoke unless spoken to. She was quieter than Quatre had been most of the time.

Souh sat in the grass outside the music hall waiting for his girlfriend to finish practice. Nagisa-jo played the Japanese flute. Koneko going past on a run paused to use the drink fountain in the courtyard then stopped to listen to the music. The orchestra was playing. Nagisa-jo was a guest soloist for an upcoming concert.

"Do you play at all or are you just an admirer?" asked Souh. For a long while there was no answer and Souh wondered if she had heard him.

"…Violin, piano, flute…" Koneko answered looking utterly lost.

"What's wrong?"

"My violin, I remember the smell of the resin. The third fret was worn just a little lower than the others. I remember feel of the vibrations, tuning, the stiffness of the bow, creases in my fingers… I kept a picture of my father and I at the zoo in the compartment with the resin. Not…I… It's gone," She whispered. Her look of desolation was so complete it was alarming.

Souh went into the music hall and asked to borrow one of the practice violins. He brought it to her, "Play?" He offered not sure of what to do.

"It's a school instrument," explained Nagisa-jo who had followed Souh out.

Koneko tuned it by ear, set it under her chin and began to play. She played and played. Eventually half the orchestra was watching and listening. Koneko did not notice. Her eyes were closed and silent tears streamed down her face but she smiled and played. You could feel her music. It was at this time that the Preventer offices gave up any pretense of discretion with Heero's spy program. Trowa turned on full quality audio. Une and the other pilots stood round his desk listening.

When finally Koneko put down the violin. Trowa spoke, "She is Quatre," and for that moment the other pilots were convinced. Trowa was the only one who stayed convinced but for a moment the pilots had faith. Une was scowling. She'd never heard Quatre play. It sounded pretty. So What!

Une looked at Heero who was looking back at her as if challenging her to put her disciplinary threat into action. All she said was "Kill the spyware. We go through official channels. I'll get the school's permission."


	4. Temper Temper

The pilot of the Day is Wufei

Wufei stood just inside the door of the surveillance room his stance perfectly matching Souh who stood a few feet away. Both stood with their feet shoulders width apart, their hands relaxed at their sides just a little away from the body, knees bent slightly shifting their weight from foot to foot ever so slightly.

Both boys had most of their attention focused on the two in front of them. Wufei was scowling. He disliked duplicity but Yui didn't seem to have a problem with it.

Heero had supposedly broken open the old spyware program but his timing was deliberate, as Wufei well knew. Nokoru gasped horrified as he saw what the spyware had been picking up. It was the girl's shower room. There was Miss Lin completely exposed. A few other girls walked past the camera in various states of undress before Heero turned off the display.

"I would say we're not dealing with espionage," Heero pointed out pulling the sleeve of his Preventor uniform straight.

Nokoru seemed completely taken in and on the surface he was however in the back of his head all levels of analysis were going on. Wufei's scowl, the complexity of the spyware, Miss Lin had a secret and for the camera to be focused on her was suspicious. All manner of theories fired off in his brain. Lin-san could be aware of a stalker explaining her state of nervousness? Lin-san's presence could be coincidental. Was the program picking up other images? Why were the Preventor agents so young? Were they really Preventor agents? The cut of the uniforms were perfectly tailored, a detail unlikely from impostors. Was the third light on the left in the surveillance room flickering for a reason? Could the electronics have been tampered with or was the light bulb failing. All of these thoughts occurred simultaneously and instantaneously.

Nokoru smiled pleasantly. "I'm certainly relieved you've put a stop to it. Is there anyway we can determine who did this?"

The clock struck twelve and Wufei excused himself as Heero started feeding Nokoru the story about the new Preventor monitoring program he was installing and how a copy of the old spyware would be taken back to Preventor headquarters for analysis.

All Wufei heard was, "…blah, blah, blah, normally not Preventor business, blah, blah favour to the Rijichou, blah, blah…."

"If you will excuse me I have an errand to run and as it is lunch time I thought it would be a good opportunity to see to it," spoke Wufei politely.

A younger boy with a knock or two of warning opened the surveillance room door. Nokoru smiled in greeting. "Akira! What excellent timing! I'm sure Preventor Chang would find a guide useful making his way around campus. It can be quite a maze. He has an errand to run. Would be so kind? I was thinking we could have lunch at the Café Terrace if you'd both like to join us after you are through with your errand Preventor."

"Certainly," answered the younger boy with a cheerful smile. "Where do you need to go?"

"I have a package to deliver to a student here curtsey of a friend of mine. First we'll need to go back to the car to retrieve it."

"You're old enough to drive?" inquired Akira innocently but rather tactlessly.

Wufei was not enjoying this day at all.

With a brown paper wrapped bundle a little larger than a brief case in hand; Wufei and Akira set out to check the different high school cafeterias for a certain student.

"Does one of the cafeteria's have a mural of a garden painted in it?" asked Wufei. Akira smiled and nodded then chattering cheerfully about Clamp and what a great school it was; led the way. "I am told the girl I'm looking for eats lunch there."

Koneko Lin watched Wufei approach looking like a deer in the headlights. She stood to greet him her back straight and her lunch forgotten.

Wufei gave a slight nod of greeting and they stared at each other silently for a full thirty seconds while their obvious unease started to draw stares. Akira looked from one to the other curious and quite suddenly uncomfortable.

"Please be seated," offered Lin-san recovering herself first.

"Yes," Wufei sat like an automaton.

"Is everyone alright?" Lin blurted out.

Wufei nodded dismissively and Lin-san seemed to deflate with relief then she smiled at him.

Wufei put the package on the table and pushed it towards her frowning. Koneko raised an eyebrow in curiosity and delicately began opening the package.

Inside wrapped in brown paper was a tea set, a box of jasmine tea and in it's protective case, the violin.

Koneko was silent for some time tracing the delicate pattern of the tea set then slowly and reverently opening the violin case and taking out the instrument.

"You're certain he's alright." She asked again. Looking up at Wufei intensely and demandingly.

"I told him not to do this," spoke Wufei his eyes clearly suspicious and resentful. Wufei was never good at hiding his feelings. He was glaring at Koneko.

"Dear Allah…" she whispered lost in thought and strong emotions but completely ignoring Wufei's glare as she caressed the violin. It and the tea set had been willed to Trowa.

"Don't you dare blubber weak bakka onna!" Wufei snapped his fists clenching. Abruptly, he stood sending his chair toppling backwards. Wufei stormed out of the room without looking back.

"Leave me alone for a minute!" Wufei snapped at Akira who'd come chasing after him looking concerned. Akira backed up and sat on a nearby bench trying not to stare.

'Nataku these times are surely sent to try my honour. Did that space heart nonsense ever do him any kindness or did it merely torture a warrior with delusions of pacifism and then lead us all into this. Have I abandoned a comrade? Should I be avenging him? Who is she?' Wufei took a deep breath, concentrated on relaxing his muscles and turned to apologize to the boy.

Akira had trouble sitting still during lunch. Wufei sat ramrod straight and ate like the food was an enemy he was punishing. Souh silently scrutinized Wufei. Nokoru chatted cheerfully about how delightful women were pretending nothing was going on and Heero agreed with liberal grunts of agreement as he chewed his food, intensely ignoring Wufei.

The meal ended badly. Koneko Lin appeared.

"Please,…" she pleaded. She gave Preventor Chang a envelop with 03 scrolled on it in fine calligraphy. Chang Wufei completely and utterly lost his cool.

Souh physically restrained the Kaichou from intervening keeping him out of the way to protect him. Heero watched, cool and detached. Akira oscillated between ducking to get out of the way and reaching out to try and help.

Koneko defended attack after attack never once going on the offensive but quite simply Wufei was better at marshal arts then she was. A kick missed her head by a hair. A punch didn't quite hit squarely. A jab misdirected into a roll. Suddenly he had her pinned. He could have killed her. He let her up and after a moment turned away looking ashamed.

She stood panting and nursing a sore rip. "Don't walk away from me!" she warned suddenly furious. "Chang Wufei, if you want justice, want it with your whole heart."

"It was nice sparring with you." She spat. She acknowledged Heero with a cool nod. "Nokoru Imonoyama please accept my apologise for this unseemly display."

"Are you alright?" asked Nokoru.

"I," she replied stopping and thinking. Trowa believed in her. Everyone else was confused, angry and a hundred other things but Trowa believed in her. "I'm magnificent!"

Koneko walked off whistling merrily.


	5. Red Tomatoes

Needs editing help. I know, I know... Please review.

Nokoru was incensed, for a woman to be treated so in his school, right in front of him was insufferable. "I am afraid I am going to have to ask you to leave Chang-san. Such behaviour cannot be tolerated. Not only was your attack unprovoked and unprofessional. Lin-san is a student here and if your issue with her is Preventor business it must go through the schools administration and cannot be the subject of brawling. If your issue with her is personal you forget you are in uniform." Nokoru was positively bristling. He had not said all he meant to say and frankly he was more than a little annoyed at Souh for holding him back and Preventor Yui-san was still calming eating lunch as if nothing had happened!

Wufei was to busy chastising himself to pay much attention. He turned to Heero and let loose the rant that had been building for several months. "I've had it to here with effeminate blond billionaires and their well meaning burdensome challenges to my honour. If Une wants my badge over this, she can have it! I'm leaving anyway! I'm going to become a monk! Do you know what this has done to my blood pressure? If you want to spy on her, tell them!"

Heero gave Wufei a casual look that said plainly 'you just told them, why would I bother?'

Souh and Akira were now just about ready to throw an apoplectic fit of their own for it seemed that the out of control Preventor agent had quite plainly insulted Imonoyama-sama.

Chang Wufei stalked off. Heero calmly got to his feet. "I'll have Director Une contact you regarding this incident." Heero was a soldier not a public relations person. The mission integrity had been compromised. It was time to report back to base.

Nokoru, Souh and Akira headed back to the central security office. That something bothersome was going on was obvious. They would pull the security tapes. Lin-san was standing outside waiting for them. A clear dark bruise had formed along her chin.

"I must inform you that Chang-san's absence today at lunch was my doing," she spoke mysteriously. She shook Nokoru's hand and smiled sadly. "Thank you for your kind intentions."

"Of course," answered Nokoru offering her an encouraging smile. He slipped the key she had palmed him into his pocket and watched her walk away with a slight hitch in her walk as she tried to favour bruised ribs. As she walked out of sight, he sighed and took the key out of his pocket and opened the door to the security office. Nokoru felt a little taken advantage of. She stole the key but assumed his good nature would prevent him from making an issue of it.

"We won't be able to press charges," spoke Nokoru confidently.

"What?" Souh and Akira were confused.

"There will be no evidence," he explained. "And Lin-san does not wish us to press charges on her behalf."

Nokoru was right. All the tapes that should have showed the incident with the Preventor showed nothing of it. Nokoru noticed for the first time the small alcove in which they had had lunch was very discrete and the tape of the alcove itself, showed only the ghost of a hiccup where they shifted positions unnaturally in one frame. Koneko tripped on her own feet just outside of the restaurant. Nokoru had never seen her trip before but the way she fell would explain the only visible bruise.

He watched the tapes three times but still was not able to spot the moment she stole the key from him. Perhaps it had happened during the missing frames.

The only evidence of any type remaining was the short shower scene known to have been pirated off campus that coincidentally showed Lin-san.

"Will this be the next case for the Clamp Campus Detectives?" asked Akira cheerfully.

"There are no shortage of mysteries here however I am not certain we would be doing anyone a service to investigate this," answered Nokoru drumming his fingers on the desk lost in thought.

Souh picked up the tape of the shower scene and turned it over in his hand. "Is it right for them to be hacking into the Clamp security system and downloading video footage?"

"As I suspect the only one they are spying on is Lin-san, I'm tempted to ask her outright what her opinion on the matter is, however I do not want to cause her distress," answered Nokoru turning back to the new Preventor surveillance program and beginning to attempt to hack it open or at least find a way to isolate a copy of it off the Clamp mainframe and take it apart. He was so focused in his efforts that he didn't really notice when Akira left for class. Nokoru and Souh had been excused from classes for the day to deal with the Preventor agents.

Souh did a background check on Lin-san. The background check listed her as an L2 colony war orphan. She could be anyone from anywhere. No parents were listed. She was registered as a ward of L2 with a conditional student visa that prohibited gainful employment or travel. Her birthday was government issued which is to say her birthday matched the day she had been registered as a war orphan. Her name was probably made up as well. Koneko did sound more like a nickname than a given name. The name fabrication was likely why her family name was not even of the same nationality as her given name… hmm…

"Kaichou, her entire identity is almost certainly made up," Souh commented to Nokoru

"Oh, I know. I did a background check on her when she first got here. There is no way I'm going to be able to break this program open. I think we are going to have to talk with her."

Souh watched as Imonoyama-sama called through to Lin-san's teacher casually interrupting class and asking for Lin-san to meet with the student council after last class.

Before Three O-clock arrived the Kaichou received a call from Director Une of the Preventors. Agent Chang Wufei had been given a one-month suspension without pay. He was being sent for counselling. The Preventors extended their most sincere apologizes.

Apparently Agent Chang had openly confessed to his wrong doing and agreed to any measures taken against him.

Souh wondered why the Kaichou asked no questions regarding the surveillance or why Agent Chang had attacked Lin-san.

"Patience Takamarra-san," Nokoru replied playfully mysterious.

After class, Akira, Souh and Nokoru sat waiting in the student council room discussing nothing of note until Koneko arrived.

Nokoru explained about Agent Chang.

Koneko was pleased. "Oh good. The loss of income should help assuage his gilt and the time off should give him the quiet he needs to sort himself out."

"How do you know him?" asked Nokoru.

"The war," answered Lin-san sounding lost in memories rather than purposely vague.

"How did you meet?"

"We were both in it," answered Lin-san with an edge to her voice. "Please don't make me dredge up war memories. If it comes to that, I would rather withdraw from Clamp. That should satisfy you."

"I did not mean to upset you," protested Nokoru-sama at once. "It is a natural question. You see; we have two problems on our hands. There is the incident with Chang-san and there have been issues lately with Clamp's security system. I only mean to determine if the two issues are related."

"Do you know of anyone who might want to watch you?" asked Souh. If Souh's interruption into Nokoru's line of questioning bothered the Kaichou, he didn't let it show.

"The Preventor's had better be watching me and other agencies might be watching me and frankly I don't care. I am … I have done… I am… not innocent but I am not a threat to you or Clamp and my past is so muddled I am not sure of it myself but, but…" after a breif pause she added. "The watching is a good thing."

"Even if you were less than decent?" Nokoru tried to frame delicately.

This question seemed to redirect a lot of the tension that had billowed. "Some of my, well that is I know, hee, hee.. " Koneko laughed. "I can see those buggers with a pin up of me naked, the lot of them drunker than dogs and playing darts with it. Aiming at a joke de-flowering. I have always been accused of being entirely to reserved, repressed, inhibited, whatever...it draws teasing. Chang-san would likely run them through with that ancestral sword of his for the impropriety of it and, and oh but one poor sad clown would be there drawing men's parts on me while frowning. You know it's shameful what the influence of one filthy mind can do and he and he…" Koneko caught herself before saying that Duo had had the gaul to call Nokoru a pervert! That was slightly more informative than was wise and she was rambling in quite an unseemly way already. It was quite some time before she could stop herself from laughing.

"Pixillize the private areas of campus you nincompoops!" Koneko Lin finally managed to spit out.

"But if something were to happen?" protested Akira.

"If anything were to happen a pixillated image can be followed out of the area and caught on one of the standard cameras. You would have full audio. There would be no lack of evidence and as it is the system will attract abuse. Are you sure the security crews aren't taking advantage of Clamp's security system for, …" Koneko was highly embarrassed to be talking about any of this and had turned tomato red. The clamp campus detective team was in no better a state. Koneko was so thoroughly embarrassed that she closed her eyes and turned away.

"I'm sorry. I'm just not talking about this with three, … um, with you three .. boy, men, male, whatever… um, you're looking at me. ur…" Koneko mortified dashed for the nearest door throwing it open, running through and slamming it behind her. She leaned against the door laughing near hysterically. She'd just succeeded in locking herself in the closet. She slid down the door and laughed hiding her head in her hands.

Nokoru, Akira, and Souh were silent and sat stiffly starring at each other and not looking towards the closet.

"I am such a moron." Lin-san could be heard muttering between laughing that sounded almost like crying.

Nokoru got up, went over to the computer and began silently and furiously working on pixillating select cameras.

Akira stood abruptly and dashed off to make tea.

As for Souh, "But,…" he almost whined pointing to the closet. Poor Souh.


	6. Violin Violence

One thing Lin-san had said haunted Nokoru. "I am… not innocent." There was something about the look in her eyes when she spoke those words. Nokoru actually had a nightmare or two about it. The sound of screaming, fire, explosions, tears in the darkness then stars spinning and falling and the echo of those words.

He didn't speak to Suoh or Akira about it but something just unnerved him about that statement. .

The Rijchou had called Nokoru-sama into a discrete meeting and in veiled language, it was made clear that the Preventor surveillance had been approved prior to the lunchtime incident and that he was to drop the issue. She discretely passed on access codes that opened the newer spy-ware. Nokoru-sama was encouraged to maintain complete discretion.

For the next while, he spied on Lin-san watching a high-speed playback of her day once or twice. Nokoru checked in on the spy-ware frequently. Lin-san had decided to join the orchestra and took first chair. She was very solitary, unfailingly polite and considerate. She was the kind of girl that took time to clean up the dorm after a party she hadn't even been invited too or helped with someone else's homework even when it meant forsaking and possibly failing her own.

Lin-san seemed to be completely impoverished except for the scholarship grant. Grant money worked on a campus credit system so it covered tuition, residence fees, meal credits, books, uniforms but could not be spent like cash. Koneko had to find very creative ways to pay for anything else she needed like dry cleaning or personal care items. Other things she did without. Nokoru frowned at some of the not so non-essentials that had been taken out of the tuition but had not been included in the grant system: the campus transit system, health insurance and school trips. He set about seeing to it that next year would be different.

To Nokoru it was crystal clear why she'd protected Agent Chang though Suoh kept asking why she would alter the video footage yet didn't seem bothered that Chang had reported himself. Souh thought she was hiding something. Nokoru saw it differently. It was everything and the only thing she could do to protect Chang. It's one thing to confess to wrong doing because that's something you choose to do. It's another thing to be criminalized by someone else. Not only that, but video footage could be more damning than it had any right to be.

Nokoru thinking of Suoh's taciturn apology after the incident was a little glad the footage was gone. Suoh had explained painfully that Agent Chang outclassed even him. "Kaichou, I couldn't let you be hurt." Some moments were best blurred into forgetfulness, forgiveness and acceptance. Suoh would have been shattered to see Imonoyama-sama's desolate eyes as he was overpowered and held back; forced to do nothing but watch while a lady was attacked right in front of him. As it was Suoh had thrown himself into training with rather more intensity than was healthful recently. Suoh had not known an honest challenge in years.

So it was that Nokoru was watching the video footage when one of the boys from the wrestling team decided he had a problem with Lin-san. The boy was a close friend of the former first violin. Nokoru raced to Koneko's aid. Souh and Akira followed knowing the only reason the Kaichou ever moved that fast was if a lady was in distress.

Nokoru panted but didn't jump out from behind the tree where he had paused to access the situation. In the time it had taken him to get from the student council offices to Lin-san, she had managed to pin the wrestler. The former first chair watched angrily but seemed reluctant to take on the petite blonde girl that had overcome his brute of a friend so easily. Souh and Akira caught up and Nokoru motioned for them to wait and watch.

"If she can resolve this without our aid she is less likely to be assaulted again," whispered Nokoru. "But I won't allow this kind of bullying"

As Koneko talked, Nokoru furrowed his brow slightly for her reasoning words were not the sort that would normally be listened to when an angry teen hopped up on testosterone was place in an embarrassing and violent situation.

"… Jeopardizing your chances at this school. You want to try out for the Olympic wrestling team in a few years. Bullying will hurt you more than me. Sponsors want upstanding role models. Friend, you've worked so hard to accomplish all you have…"

Koneko continued, her soft voice droning on until Nokoru found his eyes un-focusing and he had to shake his head to keep paying attention.

"…Sorry you were so disappointed to loose first chair. I want to play beautifully and would be ashamed of myself to play less then my best. There is always someone better out there. Don't let that keep you from your own best…"

Nokoru watched as the tension slowly left the boys and they instead seemed to take on an aspect of shame and then determination and then finally pride. It was not 'what' Koneko was saying though it helped that she never once lost her temper or raised her voice.

Souh looked a little astonish as the girl showed the wrestler the move she had used to immobilize him. She smiled at the boy and encouraging him when he tried it on her. She was completely unafraid and seemed to have absolute faith that he would treat her as a friend.

Finally the two boys apologized with polite bows and left. Koneko picked up her books and nodded towards Nokoru who stepped out of hiding.

"Are you all right?" Nokoru-sama asked.

Lin-san nodded.

"How did you do it?"

Lin-san sighed wearily, "Even if you hadn't been spying on me you would have known I was in trouble even though I was half way across the campus? That is what the girls in my dorm say." She paused waiting for acknowledgement.

Nokoru-sama nodded slightly.

"You can make almost any woman smile but sometimes it's more difficult. The girl who challenged you to find something hidden on campus was more difficult."

Nokoru-sama chose to neither confirm nor deny that statement.

"It hurts when they weep?"

Nokoru-sama nodded again.

"You of all people don't need to ask me how I did that."

"Kaichou is just Kaichou," protested Akira.

Nokoru smiled mischievously then asked, "With you does it only happen with men?"

Koneko rolled her eyes. "Pervert wanna-be. You are unique and I am unique. That doesn't make us a matched set of uniques. The gender issue is distinctive to you. I've also heard you gain superpowers when a woman is threatened. I'm not typical teenager average or I wouldn't be here at Clamp School but I don't improve for special occasions."

"I didn't mean to imply, I … The superpowers rumour is incorrect." Why does this only happen to me when I'm talking to Lin-san, Nokoru wondered? I don't even know what I meant by that comment.

"But you do improve for special occasions," prompted Suoh curious.

"May I make a wild hypothesis based on personal experience, rumour and guessing?" Koneko asked.

"Certainly," offered Nokoru generously. He also took Koneko's books and began to escort her back to her dorm.

"The difference is a matter of focus. Like a lens collecting light you are either gently illuminating a broad area or burning brightly in one spot. Your IQ is lots and lots, very smart, blah, blah, blah, untapped resource and all that. Completely focused you can overcome your own limitations right up here." Koneko stopped to tap Nokoru on the forehead lightly.

"Mind over matter," suggested Suoh nodding a little. It was possible he thought.

"Is there likely to be problems with bullying from those boys again?" asked Akira deciding to ignore the something strange that seemed to be going on and focus on what was important.

Koneko stopped and thought, "I will take care of it," she said thinking of Dorothy, thinking of Heero's gun shoved up her left nostril. "There's no such thing as a one dimensional thug, I promise."

Koneko took her books back from Nokoru. They had reached her dorm. "Thank you and I'm sorry."

"Whatever do you have to be sorry about?" objected Nokoru.

Lin-san paused then gave a quirky lopsided half sad grin. "Well you see, there's no air in space through my lack of effort and I haven't yet managed to convince all of humanity that we all would be much better off if we just tried to get along." She waved goodbye then disappeared into the building.

Nokoru noticed Suoh glaring at her. "Souh if you're glaring at her because of her manners remember she's not Japanese. I've yet to see her bow even to her Sensei's."

"She bowed to me once," spoke Akira. "But it wasn't a girl's bow or…"

"We have paperwork to do!" interrupted Suoh.


	7. Failing Normal

Trowa, looked at himself in the mirror. He straightened his Preventor tie and buffed the smudge out of his left boot. He had a mixed opinion of uniforms. Trowa didn't like to stand out. Uniforms were said to be the great equalizer. At head quarters he was one of all the rest of the Preventors and that felt comfortable. The moment he stepped off base he was THE Preventor. He took every opportunity to find undercover work he could. That loan military man at a bus stop feeling made every muscle in his body tense. Working with a large group was acceptable.

Duo thought Trowa was being fastidious when he wouldn't eat off base. Trowa wasn't really concerned about mustard on his uniform cuffs in public. Being in uniform in a crowd of civilians felt too exposed. It made him feel sick to his stomach.

Not that Duo would use the word fastidious unless you paid him. It was on Duo's list of snob words. He and Wufei had an on going argument about hoity-toity words or intellectual words depending on who's version of the argument you were listening too.

Trowa had a meeting at Clamp Campus with the director, the high school student council, a guidance councilor and Quatre.

'No,' thought Trowa, 'think of it as an undercover job. You're meeting with Koneko, no too informal, you're meeting with Miss Lin.'

After the fiasco with Wufei and Heero, Lady Une wanted to send a new face in and Duo was too apt to do something embarrassing but Lady Une wanted it to be one of the pilots.

Nokoru and Suoh dressed in the black military styled suits of the Clamp High School Division,  
knocked at the door of the Director's office. The Director or Rijichou had called them to come to her office.

Inside, one of the guidance councillors sat waiting. The Rijichou sat behind her desk dressed in a formal red kimono with her face hidden by a fan. A tall Preventor agent stood off to the side.

Nokoru and Suoh offered their greeting then waited to hear why they had been called into this meeting.

"Miyake-san perhaps you might re-state your concerns for everyone present here," the Rijichou suggested politely.

Trowa had hoped Quatre would be present to defend himself but for now he stayed silent.

"Perhaps we might have introductions first," suggested Nokoru. His suggestion was shortly carried out.

Miyake-san shifted in his seat unsure why a Preventor agent had been included. Was there serious trouble with the law then? "Rijichou-sama, Kaichou-sama, Takamura-san, Agent Barton-sama I am here to express concern about a student group that has formed recently. The students involved almost all have known discipline problems or are those frequently teased or victimized. The student group is informal. They have been meeting in the east gardens at lunch and after school; not everyday,... but quite regularly. I am concerned about potential gang behavior."

"Have there been reported incidents or concerns other than the gatherings?" asked Nokoru.

"Several students have been accosted or threatened near there by one or more of the group members," confirmed Miyake-san.

"Do they have a leader?" prompted the Rijichou. Everyone in the room already knew the answer to this question.

"I believe Lin Koneko-san is their informal leader."

"Have you confronted Lin-san about this?" asked Nokoru.

Miyake-san nodded. "She spoke that she did not condone the actions of the other students but that she would defend them to a point. She said that she had warned other students to give them some space in the east garden and that some confrontations were inevitable. It all sounded very threatening."

Nokoru smiled amused. "Miyake-san I believe she was being literal rather than threatening. You must understand Japanese is not Lin-san's first language."

"Why would you suggest that she was being literal?" questioned the Rijichou orchestrating the discussion rather than asking a question she wanted an answer to. The Rijichou knew exactly what was going on. She almost always did.

"Lin-san, having been a victim of bullying, spoke with Takamura-san, Iyjiun-san and myself expressing an intent to address the problem," Nokoru offered.

"By becoming a bully herself?" demanded Miyake-san not liking the casual attitude Nokoru-sama seemed to have to such a serious issue.

Trowa interrupted, "Who? What happened?" the level of threat in Agent Barton's soft spoken question was distinct and it startled Miyake-san. Nokoru and the Rijichou were too refined to react to the implied threat. Suoh ever so subtly positioned himself between Agent Barton and his Kaichou.

"The individuals threatened violence over the loss of a prestigious position in the orchestra. Lin-san has since befriended them." Nokoru-sama explained.

Agent Barton un-tensed and after a moment of silence, spoke dryly, "Lin-san has made friends with violent people before. However she is a moderator by nature, ... a peace keeper." Trowa, had he been a more open sort of person would have laughed with joy at the little problem this idiotic school had for itself because this was the first truly Quatre thing Lin-san had taken the initiative to do since this whole mess began and to Trowa it was a sign that maybe he/she was going to be alright. Trowa said nothing more than he had and his expression remained reserved. Words were unwieldy and subject to misinterpretation.

"Has Lin-san been reported for bullying?" asked Nokoru-sama.

"No," offered the guidance councillor reluctantly. "But she did seem to imply that the bullying was expected."

"You did suggest that the youth gathering with her are mostly those with behavior problems," the Rijichou pointed out. "Do you expect bullying in a group detention session?"

"What can we do to make sure that further problems do not arise from these gatherings?" asked Nokoru.

The Rijichou smiled. Nokoru-sama's problem solving skills were always so charming. "Why don't we ask what suggestions Lin-san has to offer." The Rijichou pushed button on the intercom and invited Lin-san in.

Koneko was impeccable dressed. Her uniform was freshly ironed. Not a hair was out of place. Her boots were polished to a shine. Trowa almost smiled for he recognized the attention to detail for what it was. Koneko knew she was under attack and she was ready to fight back. He did smile at the extreme formality of her greeting.

Koneko-san's suggestions were interesting. Give them unofficial permission to use the east garden or other suitable space to congregate. Discipline the group rather than the individuals for any act of bullying occurring during and in the hour proceeding or following any assembly.

Then followed a list of suggestions tailored to the needs of individuals within her group. The coach needs to add a public relations and sponsorship component to the wrestling team's training. Many of the school athletes don't comprehend the huge impact their public image will have on their success. It is as important as their athletic skills. Investing, contract negotiation, retirement and contingency planning should also be taught.

Another student needs legal help to be emancipated from his parents. There were issues of financial abuse. It needs to be done discretely so as not to further damage the already strained familial relations.

A drug dealer that has set herself up at the Madoka caf┌ and another is dealing steroids through the health store. Get them off campus. Institute drug testing at the elementary school level athletic competitions.

The guidance councillor sat indignant. "I hardly think drug testing is appropriate at an elementary school level."

"Clamp is internationally renown for it's sports programs and competition to get in and stay in is fierce." Lin-san spoke. "At the elementary level there needs to be a policy of forgiveness and utmost discretion with respect to any drug policy introduced but the problem is there. Advertise the introduction of testing ahead of time. Give the children, their parents and their coaches fair warning to allow them clean up their act by letting them know the testing is coming. Sell it as an imitation of the adult level competition. Legally a child under twelve is a victim of circumstances conspiring to corrupt them. They have a right to be protected from exposure to harmful influences. It is the duty of parents and caregivers to take every reasonable measure to protect young children."

She went on to suggest that the sex education curriculum needed a complete revamp.

The guidance councillor sputtered, protested and was starting to loose his temper then Nokoru-sama spoke up. "I've had no exposure to our health curriculum. Perhaps Suoh-san you might comment?"

Suoh turned a little red but answered. "It is taught as a part of phys-ed. My sensei allowed our class to skip it and play floor hockey instead."

"So," clarified Nokoru, "I've had no exposure to our health curriculum as I was excused from Physical Education due to other obligations and Takamurra-san had no exposure to our health curriculum though he participated..." Nokoru-sama appeared to be contemplating the dilemma deeply. In fact he was merely trying to refrain from saying anything further as he believed Lin-san's point had been made and further comment would hurt her cause.

Quatre would normally have restrained himself. He'd been trained in diplomacy and sales all his life but Lin-san had been asked to do too much restraining recently and given the chance to act for change she just couldn't keep her mouth shut. "Apparently as everyone here is smart and as there is no obvious surplus of babies or STD's, the student's must be figuring it out for themselves acceptably. By the way, were you aware that the chemistry club synthesized the morning after pill and funded their last lobster luau from the proceeds?"

Nokoru cringed. Lin-san wasn't helping herself with the sarcasm. "Are you quite serious?" he asked just to be sure.

Koneko looked a little embarrassed but took a deep breath, "I apologize, my attitude was inappropriate however it's all real. The luau and I did confirm it's funding but this was not the forum I intended to address that particular issue in." Koneko couldn't help herself she looked over at Trowa for reassurance.

"So you did intend on informing the appropriate persons." The Rijichou stated icily.

"I was uncertain as to whom the appropriate persons would be," Koneko admitted. She didn't mention the e-mails sent back and forth to Wufei regarding the issue and whether to bring it to the attention of the police, the school council or the Rijichou. Wufei had put aside his personal issues with Lin-san to offer her advice. He was keeping copies of the documentation she had collected in case things got particularly messy. She had gone to Wufei because whether or not he trusted her, she trusted him. Clamp students were smart enough to get themselves in more trouble then anyone had a right to be in and not all of them had the wisdom to balance their intelligence.

Nokoru was trying to help Lin-san but she was digging herself a hole here. Withholding knowledge of a crime makes one accessory to it. With the drug dealer, steroid problems and then the chemistry club issue Lin-san was not looking good and from the way she was clenching her left fist she knew it.

"So do you make a practice of selling out friends the moment you think you are in trouble?" Miyake-  
san asked.

Koneko looked at Miyake-san and asked calmly. "Do you think me so naive as to believe the role of whistle blower helps me on some personal level? This will not make me popular. I expect I will be shunned by those who would not dream of getting involved in something like this for suspicion of involvement and treated with hatred by those involved for the trouble they find themselves in. In that 'gathering' as you call my friends, are individuals, some of whom are without a single positive role model other than myself. My actions will be seen as a betrayal. I may never regain their trust"  
Koneko went silent. It was hard not to point out that she could count the people in the world who unconditionally trusted and believed in her on one finger. It would be so easy to just be the friend that went along and not push more hard won friends away from her. She stayed quite because that one person who did believe in her was in the room silent, still and near enough to touch.

"Do you really think we would act with such insensitivity?" asked Nokoru-sama gently.

"Prove me wrong," she answered. "If one person doesn't OD, doesn't bleed to death in a corner of the girl's washroom, doesn't end up with a gold medal taken and replaced with ridicule and shame,  
doesn't end up running a lab for designer drugs cut at street level with bleach and arsenic... Ruining a person's life is a matter of scale. If a few bright stars end up working as a grocery clerks and general labours, instead of scientists, athletic superstars or CEO's is that price too high? Expel me if you think it will help."

"Where would you go?" asked Trowa sounding a little amused. Duo always said Quatre had a heavy helping of drama queen in him at times and right now Quatre needed making fun of because he was taking himself way too seriously.

Lin-san gave Trowa a petulant brat glare before realizing that she had been preaching, playing the martyr and generally acting rather silly in front of a group of well meaning persons, "Sorry..." she whispered turning pink.

"What is so funny," demanded Miyake-san of Agent Barton-san.

Nokoru was subtle enough to understand and things needed lightening up. "Perhaps I should be expelled to," he offered. "As student body president it is unacceptable that all of this has be going on and I didn't know."

Souh snorted, "No one is expelling you until after you finish that backlog of paperwork. It would be a crime to leave that mess for someone else to clean up."

The Rijchou dismissed everyone.

Trowa asked Koneko to lunch and Nokoru eaten up with curiosity as to what exactly was behind Lin-san, the Preventor connection and everything else invited himself and Takamura-san along suggesting they go to Iyjuin's caf┌ for lunch.

"That was not your most shining example of diplomacy," suggested Trowa.

"I'm not Relena," Koneko muttered embarrassed.

"Thank you for trying to help." she said quietly to Nokoru.

"Lin-san has always had a talent for befriending thugs," offered Trowa. "How many are there actually."

"Sixteen," answered Koneko. "Two are friends, three or four look to me as some kind of parental figure or sensei. The rest are hangers on. Friends by association but not real friends or even always real friendly."

"Who are the friends?"asked Nokoru.

"My room mate and the wrestler..." Koneko sighed and then asked, "Do you think I'm looking to push them away from me? Potential friends I mean. I don't mean that sarcastically, I'm actually concerned I might subconsciously be trying to set myself up to ... I don't know."

"To have a good excuse for not letting people get close to you?" Nokoru filled in gently.

Koneko nodded. "Not the finding drugs on campus thing. I've been trained to recognize subversive activities. It's no coincidence that I show up and suddenly all this is going on. This sort of thing is everywhere."

"Worried wanting it stopped is an excuse to drive people away?" asked Trowa.

Koneko shrugged. "Sort of that and sort of the whole group thing. Sixteen is a lot of problem personalities to manage. The group got too big too fast."

"You asked Wufei for help," Trowa pointed out.

Koneko nodded.

"Done this before?" Asked Trowa. He liked talking to Quatre. Quatre was different from other people.

"This?"

"Student."

Koneko knew what Trowa was asking. Had he/she, ever just been an ordinary student at a school and not a soldier hiding at a school which is a very different thing.

Koneko shook her head no thinking. "No. I was always home schooled."

Trowa nodded.

"Yet I instantly expect to be an expert at it," Koneko admitted in a mumble. "I'm so bloody arrogant sometimes."

Trowa shrugged. To him it was more that Quatre had self esteem issues so he tended to try too hard and then beat himself up if he didn't succeed at everything whether success was reasonable or not.

Nokoru pouted playfully. "You're not letting me practice my favorite hobby of knight in shining armor; protector of the happiness of women everywhere. I'm hopelessly bored."

"Am I acting like a Mary-Jane?" Koneko asked.

Trowa snorted, "If I start thinking you're a Goddess in blond shoot me. Besides doesn't Mary-Jane fix all that's wrong in the world with a bat of her eyelashes and a wiggle of her hips. I believe all you've succeeded in doing is stirring up mud and getting yourself and others in trouble. You've succeeded in making two friends and collecting a bunch of thugs with issues into one place,... which is always a recipe for disaster. Even for you."

"I don't do normal well," Koneko laughed.

Trowa leaned over and whispered something to Koneko. She burst out in laughter and turned tomato red.

"What did you say to her?" asked Nokoru burning with curiosity.

Trowa's whisper had been, "At least you've got your head out of your boobs Mr. Winner, moping never flattered you." Needless to say neither Trowa nor Koneko would repeat it.

(Sorry about the first post a different story's garbage got tagged on by accident)


End file.
